The Chattanooga State men’s basketball team took care of business Monday night in an 84-58 win over Tennessee Wesleyan JV squad, but it wasn’t always pretty.
A 26-point win may seem like a blowout, but in this case, it was a lot closer than it should have been. The Chatt State Tigers were bigger, stronger, and faster than the Tennessee Wesleyan Bulldogs.
The tallest listed player on the Bulldog’s roster is 6’4”. Chatt State, on the other hand, has 10 of 14 of its players listed at 6’4” or taller including four players 6’8” or taller. Size was clearly a problem, but that didn’t stop Tennessee Wesleyan from fighting quite literally like a bulldog would. They came ready to play, and for the first 12 minutes, they played like they belonged, at an even 15-15. They forced hard shots, missed layups, and turnovers in an almost perfect start to the game for their team.
Coach Jay Price knew a lackluster start was coming.
“We didn’t play well. We didn’t execute. Defensively we were scrambling too much, but I kind of expected that. Knowing we just beat the same team [89-56] the other night, I kind of knew we wouldn’t be focused,” said Price.
But much like a fight between a tiger and bulldog would go in real life, the Tigers came out on top with ease. A timeout to stop a 15-5 run helped them realize their size advantage. The Tigers then went on a 14-2 run that consisted of a handful of dunks, fastbreak alley oops, and easy buckets down low from Chatt State big men James Flippin (6’11”) and Eloge Ntumba (6’9”). After that, there was no turning back. No more scratching and clawing would be impactful for the Bulldogs.
“Our big guys have worked really hard to develop, so we have to get them the ball. Once we decided to focus on that, we got a lot of easy shots,” said Price.
The Chattanooga State Tigers now look forward to their conference opener Wednesday night in a matchup at Walters State.
“They played hard and shared the ball really well. I liked that Isiah [Lightsy] knocked down a few threes in a row and we were looking for him. Most importantly, they were cheering and motivating each other, and I think that is key going into conference play… These guys like each other,” said Price.
CHATTANOOGA STATE 37 47 -- 84
TENNESSEE WESLEYAN 23 35 -- 58
CS – David Ware (15), Isiah Lightsy (12), James Flippin (12), Eloge Ntumba (10), Kevin Sesberry (8), Donovin Taylor-Wade (7), Keyshawn Collier (7), Alex Bean (4), Morrell Schramm (3), Donovan Jackson (2), Tamir Johnson (2), Jorclay Kaniki (2)
TW – Luke Joiner (9), Evan Gaffney (9), Mack Thacker (8), Jack Humphrey (8), Tory Sewell (7), Dawson Epperson (7), Kobe Walker (5), Steve Humpire (5)
THREE POINTERS
CS - David Ware (3), Isiah Lightsy (4), Donovin Taylor-Wade (1), Keyshawn Collier (1)
TW - Luke Joiner (3), Evan Gaffney (1), Mack Thacker (1), Jack Humphrey (1), Tory Sewell (1), Dawson Epperson (1), Kobe Walker (1)